About Us

Dalmatian Fire Equipment, Inc., the largest supplier of refurbished SCBA’s and cylinders in North America, provides firefighters unbeatable prices for clean and comprehensively tested breathing apparatus backed by a 10 year warranty. Dalmatian’s excellent reputation in the volunteer community is fueled by relentless attention to quality, and attentive customer service—all at a fraction of the cost of a new pack.

Our company’s mission is to restore our customers’ products and our people with integrity and respect using merit-driven decisions to create sustainability through profit.

Dalmatian typically inventories up to 10,000 packs, and refurbishes them to order, using parts manufactured 100% by the original equipment manufacturer. Dalmatian engineered key in-house, environmentally friendly processes targeting the special needs of cleaning fire equipment include ultrasonic cleaners and commercial extractors.

Packs are tested to the highest industry standards, using Posichek analysis, and are further tested by Dalmatian’s proprietary in-house quality control systems to ensure exceptional reliability and value.

Cylinders are tested using standard visual inspections, followed by electromagnetic eddy-testing of the thread continuity and hydrostat testing in its in-house DOT certified hydrostat testing facility.

Russ Kates, President

Russ is an experienced businessman, owning and operating numerous businesses since he graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from Colorado State University in 1970. He has many years of experience as an executive in sales, administration, finance and operations. Russ has personally been awarded “Person of the Year for 2000” by the American Cancer Society, “The Hope Award” by the National MS Society and the “Torch Award for Ethics in Business” by the Better Business Bureau of Northern Colorado. Russ was the President/CFO of a $60M chain of supermarkets in Northern Colorado employing more than 700 employees. During his tenure the company won “1992 Retailer of the Year” for the State of Colorado, presented by The Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, and “1992 In Store Bakery of the Year” by Bakery Production Magazine and Retail Bakers of America. His company was voted “Best Grocery Store” by the Coloradoan Newspaper Readers 16 years in a row. Russ brings a “customer service” attitude to Dalmatian and is eager to make a difference filling your firefighting equipment needs.